Interviewing: The most Common Methods of Data Collection in Qualitative Studies

Abstract In qualitative studies, one of the most common methods for data collection is interviewing. The interview is aimed at understanding the experience of other people and understanding the meaning of that experience. In qualitative studies, interviews were conducted with the following approaches: 1) an informed conversational interview or an unstructured, non-standardized interview; 2) a semi-structured interview; 3) a standardized open-ended interview or structured interview; and 4) combined approaches. Asking open-ended questions, clarifying, being an active listener, asking for probing questions, observing, being neutral, making changes, waiting for unexpected things and having an active presence in an interview are the skills needed for interviewing. During the interview, choose the appropriate place for the interview, and explain the purpose(s) of the interview for the interviewees. Describe the framework of an interview. Tell the participants how long the interview might last. Give your contact or telephone number to the participants. Give the participants an opportunity to ask questions. Finally, take field notes during the interview or record interviews and transcribe them after the end of the interview. Keywords: Interview, Qualitative study, Data